SUFISM Emerald Hills of the Heart
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Bölümler i Key Concepts in the Practice of SUFISM Emerald Hills of the Heart 3 ii Beware Satan! A Defense Strategy Bölümler iii Key Concepts in the Practice of SUFISM Emerald Hills of the Heart 3 M. Fethullah Gülen Translated by Ali Ünal New Jersey iv Beware Satan! A Defense Strategy Copyright © 2009 by Tughra Books 12 11 10 09 1 2 3 4 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from the Publisher. Published by Tughra Books 26 Worlds Fair Dr. Unit C Somerset, New Jersey, 08873, USA www.tughrabooks.com Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data for the first volume Gulen, M. Fethullah [Kalbin zümrüt tepelerinde. English] Key concepts in the practice of Sufism / M. Fethullah Gulen. [Virginia] : Fountain, 2000. Includes index. ISBN 1-932099-23-9 1. Sufism - - Doctrines. I. Title. BP189.3 .G8413 2000 297.4 - - dc21 00-008011 ISBN-13 (paperback): 978-1-59784-204-4 ISBN-13 (hardcover): 978-1-59784-136-8 Printed by Çağlayan A.Ş., Izmir - Turkey Bölümler v TABLE OF CONTENTS The Emerald Hills of the Heart or Key Concepts in the Practice of Sufism ......vii Irshad and Murshid (Guidance and the Guide) ............................................. 1 Safar (Journeying) ........................................................................................9 Wasil (One who has Reached) ................................................................... 16 Samt ( Silence) ............................................................................................ 23 Halwat and Jalwat ( Privacy and Company) ................................................ 27 ‘Ilm Ladun (The Special Knowledge from God’s Presence) ........................ 32 Waliyy and Awliyaullah (God’s Friend [Saint] and God’s Friends [Saints]) .......37 Abrar (The Godly, Virtuous Ones) ....................................................... 40 Muqarrabun (Those Favored with God’s Special Nearness) ................. 41 Abdal (The Substitutes) .................................................................. 43 Nujaba (The Nobles) ...................................................................... 47 Nukaba (The Custodians) ............................................................... 48 Awtad (The Pillars) .........................................................................49 Ghawth (The Helper or the Means of Divine Help) ........................50 Qutb (The Pole) ..............................................................................53 Fayd and Tajalli (Effusion and Manifestation) ............................................57 Tajalli (Manifestation)................................................................................ 65 The Manifestation of the Divine Being or the Divine Essence .............. 65 The Manifestation of Divine Essential Qualities .................................... 67 The Manifestation of Divine Attributes ................................................ 68 The Manifestation of Divine Names ..................................................... 68 The Manifestation of Divine Works ......................................................69 The Manifestation of Divine Acts ......................................................... 70 The Manifestation of Divine Grace ................................................. 71 The Manifestation of Divine Majesty .............................................. 71 Wahy and Ilham ( Revelation and Inspiration) ............................................ 72 A‘yan ath-Thabita and ‘Alam Al-Mithal (Archetypes and the World of Representations or Ideal Forms) ........................................... 79 Heavenly or Elevated Realms .....................................................................86 ‘Âlam Lahut (The Realm of the Transcendental Manifestation of Divinity) .......................................................................................... 89 ‘Âlam Rahamut (The Realm of the Transcendental Manifestation of Divine Mercy and Compassion) ....................................................... 90 vi Key Concepts in the Practice of Sufism Vol. 3 ‘Âlam Jabarut (The Realm of the Transcendental Manifestation of Divine Attributes and Names) ..........................................................92 ‘Âlam Malakut (The Realm of the Transcendental Manifestation of Divine Commands) .......................................................................... 93 Ahadiya and Wahidiya ( Uniqueness or Absolute Oneness and Unity) ........ 97 Al-Awwal (The First), Al-Ahir (The Last) Az-Zahir (The All-Outward), Al-Batin (The All-Inward) ........................................ 107 Wahda and Kasra (Unity and Multiplicity) ...............................................120 The Spirit and What Follows ................................................................... 134 Ionia ................................................................................................... 140 Socrates (470-399 BCE) ....................................................................... 142 Plato (428/427–348/347 BCE) ............................................................ 142 Aristotle (384-322 BCE) ...................................................................... 143 Philo (20 BCE–50 CE) .......................................................................... 144 Toward the Present Time ................................................................... 146 Henri Bergson (1859–1941) .............................................................. 148 Pantheism and/or Monism .................................................................. 148 Spiritualism ........................................................................................ 149 Approaches from the Muslim World .................................................. 151 Ibn Sina (Avicenna) (980–1037 CE) .............................................. 154 Imam al-Ghazzali (1058–1111 CE) ................................................ 158 Fakhru’d-Din ar-Razi (1149–1209 CE) ......................................... 161 The Considerations of the Scholars of Sufism about the Spirit ........... 165 Bediüzzaman Said Nursi’s views on the Spirit..................................... 168 The Sufis and the Spirit ...................................................................... 172 Wijdan (Conscience) ................................................................................188 The Spiritual Intellect ......................................................................... 190 Willpower According to the Basic Principles of the Islamic Creed ......194 The Mind ........................................................................................... 201 The Power of Perceptiveness .............................................................. 202 ‘Aql (Reason) ...........................................................................................206 Nafs (The Soul) ........................................................................................216 Karama (Wonder) ....................................................................................226 Nazar and Tawajjuh (Attention and Regard) ........................................... 239 Subuhat-i Wajh (The Flood of God’s Facial Light) ................................... 248 Waridat and Mawhiba (Gifts and Favor) ..................................................257 Khulla (Sincere Friendship) ......................................................................264 Index ........................................................................................................ 273 INTRODUCTION THE EMERALD HILLS OF THE HEART OR KEY CONCEPTS IN THE PRACTICE OF SUFISM he aspect of Fethullah Gülen’s “mission” or personality as a trainer of the human carnal soul may be seen most pro- T foundly and comprehensively in The Emerald Hills of the Heart, a four-volume compilation of his writings that had been published over the years in the monthly periodical, S ızıntı. In this series, Gülen elucidates the principles of Sufism, or to be more exact, the spiritual and moral facets of Islam—in a sense, those fac- ets which are essential. This is done via a conceptual framework. Those who follow the articles can immediately see that this enun- ciation or style of analysis of the subject is fundamentally different from the methods followed by others who have laid emphasis on Sufi concepts, such as Abu’l-Qasim Abdulkarim al-Kushayri1 in ar- Risala, ‘ Ali ibn ‘Uthman al-Hujwiri2 in Kashf al-Mahjub, or Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya3 in Madarij as-Salikin. 1 Abu’l-Qasim Abdulkarim al-Kushayri (d. 1077): A muhaddith (scholar of Hadith) and mufassir (interpreter of the Qur’an). He mostly lived in Naysabur, in eastern Iran. He was the student of the great Sufi shaykh Abu ‘Ali ad-Daqqaq. Although he is the author of several important books, he is mostly famous for his ar -Risala ila as-Sufiyya (“An Epistle to the Sufis”), which is one of the early books on Sufism. (Tr.) 2 ‘ Ali ibn ‘Uthman al-Hujwiri (d. 1073): He was one of the great saints and early writers who wrote about Sufism and Sufi masters. He lived in Ghazni and Lahore in Afghanistan and Pakistan respectively. Kashf al-Mahjub (“ Revelation of the Veiled”) has received great respect from students of Sufism for nine centuries. It contains bi- ographies of certain saints and advice on many subjects such as reflection, generosity, spiritual courtesy,